INTARSIA

Nice inlay!
Is that for a pendant? a brooch? (Can't really see the size)
What kind of glue did you use? Epoxy?

Very nice piece!

Yeppir. Sands is the man to do the cutting. I told him he could cut opals! He is just not too sure yet of his latent skills. I am going to bring them out of him. He is the man.
I used several epoxies. One is a T-88 structural, one is a liquid steel, one is a simple 5 minute, optical grade.
Epoxy does not polish real well, being a fluid medium, it drags. T-88 is a rigid epoxy with tremendous laminar strength.
Opal by its nature is an unstable stone. It hazes, cracks, and often very little shows as fire. By bridging the weak points of the stone, and using a similiar MOHS stone as a boundary, you get stability with similiar polish. You will notice, the edges of the Opal VS the Turquoise. It looks like there is an undercut. That is an illusion. The epoxies are also used as part of the design. The offset of colour against the opposing stones, creates the effect of making a boundary between the two stones. The critical part is machineing the two edges together. For that I used my faceting machine. A flat lap could also do the trick.
When the rest of the piece is done, I hope Sands is still here. I also hope he really gets a fire and makes it big. He is already developing a following.
We were told today, our shop, and Sands shop was the only places in the market that had a crowd! I am considered the prime attraction, and so will Sands be. I have had many students. No one of them except for Sands had done anything, let alone open a shop. It was slow for Sands today, and probably this weekend. People will want to see him stay. Here, every vendor has been a fly by night. Here today, gone tomorrow. One of my customers who spends a lot of cash each week, I sent over to Sands. She stayed there and her husband followed. I bet she will get Sands to cut her the absolute special piece.
It took a week to make the Intarsia.
Next, I will find a dome shaper for cabochons. I can just imagine what Sands can do with that.
I have been on stage for a great deal of my life. I have known a few cabbers. I have never seen anyone with the latent talent Sands has. To see Sands take the initiative is heart warming.
See what he is capable of!

I wish you were closer Doc, I would love to learn how to create intarsia! I plan on trying with some Turqoise scraps, Chrysicolla and some white opal. Thanks for mentioning the epoxy names.

Sands that is one beautiful piece!

hi xena i know im prob gonna get alot of flac for this but im gonna go with----------

-----------BITEMETWICE-----------
--------------LAPIDARY-----------
HAND CUT,SHAPED AND POLISHED
------------CABOJOHNS-------------

whattaya think hahaha

if nuttin else it will get me noticed hahaha

Beautiful intarsia you two.

Aww Sands, that's a disappointment, seems like you're starting your shop off on the wrong foot. It's not a name that would attrack me, simply because it's not an attractive name.

That is jaw dropping georgous.
Tami

*waving hand wildly in the air*
I always thought intarsia was an inlay of one material into another.
Since this is not "inlayed" but pieces glued together, wouldn't it be
like a mosaic or something? It's so beautiful, just drooling to look at.

Strange name Sands, but from what Doc says about the location, it is probably perfect. I love the Intarsia! I difinitely don't want to start anything else til I master what I am doing now, but I think I am going to have to order a book and do some studying. That is a gorgeous piece. Rilght now I am just grinding Cab after Cab. I still love it and I have sold a lot of them, but I really want to make the Jewelry. I bought a few hundred dollors worth of tools and wire, but haven't managed to sell any yet and refuse to buy more wire until I do. Ebay is the only outlet I have now but I may try a show or two this Spring. I'm not a people person, and prefer to sell over the Internet.
Boy, am I ever rambling! What I wanted to say, is great work and it looks like you have found just what you need at a time you really needed it. I am so happy for you!
Trish